Holiday for seniors in the Historic Maramureș

Included services:
-4 nights with accommodation at a 3 star guesthouse with local specific
-half board – breakfast and dinner (the wine is included)
-campfire
-3 thematic trips
-transport with 4×4 cars or microbus, depending on the number of the group and a specialized guide guaranteed during the trips

Services not included:
-transportation to the destination
-the entry fee at the churches and for the pool with saline water
-other personal expenses

We invite you in an exclusive holiday with interactive program for groups from 6 to 12 persons to experiment the rural life, traditional cuisine, learn about the wooden churches and the carved symbols of the wooden gates from Maramureș and delight yourself with an escape in nature and relaxing in the salty water pools.

The generous time allocated for the visiting experiences, complete quality assistance, planned in the smallest detail – offers a perfect vacation adapted to the needs of the golden age.

Offer description

The programme includes 3 thematic day tours that makes the difference for your memorable holiday:

1. The Churches and Wooden Gates from the Cosău Valley. The Cosău Valley is one of the few well preserved areas with traditional architecture from the Historic Maramureș where the households keep not only the wooden houses but also the peasant hydraulic devices made from the same material and the massive gates carved in wood that are a symbol of this place’s identity. We will make our first stop in the Budești village where we will visit the UNESCO heritage wooden church, built 1643 which hosts the chain shirt of the local outlaw Pintea the Brave. Afterwards we will start a short walk along the villages’ alleyways to find out more about the history, the rituals and the symbolism of the wooden gates which are meant to protect both the household and its owners. We will then travel to Sârbi, the village which hosts the hydraulic complex with whirlpools, mills and filling devices still used even today by the locals. We will end the trip with a peaceful afternoon at the Bârsana Monastery.

2. Old growth forest and salty baths in Ocna Șugatag. We will visit together the saline lakes near Ocna Șugatag formed as a result of collapsing the salt mines that were operating in the period of the Austro-Hungarian domination. Afterwards we will follow the mild paths of the Pădurea Craiască Nature Reserve situated close by, which shelters secular oak and larch species with a venerable age between 180 and 200 years old and a bird population with an unusual density. Our guide will give you genuine information about the characteristics and healing effects of those trees. We will finish our trip with a relaxing bath in the heated pools with salty waters from Ocna Șugatag being prepared for an abundant dinner around the campfire.

3. Cultural Tour on the Mara Valley. On this day you will find out more about the biblical teachings illustrated in the paintings of the UNESCO monument wooden church in Desești, the manufacture of the traditional jewelry and the wood and glass painting techniques from the area. We will travel along the Mara Valley through Harnicesti and our first stop will be at Desești where we will visit the wooden church built in 1770 which is named after Saint Parascheva. Then we will follow the course of river Mara stopping in the smallest village named Mănăstirea. Here we will visit Pălăguța Bârlea, the one who will show us the art of hand making a range variety of traditional jewelry. After this we will walk to the wooden church, the smallest in Maramureș made from the wood of a single oak tree in the XIVth century. From here we will depart to Vadu Izei at the workshop of Ioan Borlean where the icons so famous in the houses of Maramureș receive life.

The information presented, exclusively express the opinions of the author, Romanian Environmental Partnership Foundation and Romanian-American Foundation can not be held liable in any way for how to use the information contained herein.